1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rail guard and more particularly pertains to monitoring the limits of transverse inclination and extension between a pair of rails of a railroad track and transmitting an indication signal when these limits are breached with a rail guard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of railroad track measurement devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, railroad track measurement devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of monitoring the status of railroad tracks are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,859 to Sauterel discloses a method and apparatus for measuring the inclination of a railway track. U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,546 to Jaquet discloses a measuring device for checking and/or correcting the transverse slope of railway tracks. U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,805 to Dieringer discloses a track level indicator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,854 to Patton et al. discloses an electronic cross-level detection system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,594 to Kesler et al. discloses a method and apparatus for gauging the crosslevel and warp of railroad tracks.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a rail guard that monitors the limits of transverse inclination and extension between the rails of a railroad track and transmits an indication signal when these limits are breached.
In this respect, the rail guard according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of monitoring the limits of transverse inclination and extension between a pair of rails of a railroad track and transmitting an indication signal when these limits are breached.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved rail guard which can be used for monitoring the limits of transverse inclination and extension between a pair of rails of a railroad track and transmitting an indication signal when these limits are breached. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.